On the first day of service, Monday, April 1, 2019, riders including Mayor Tzeitel Paras-Caracci, ride the new all-electric city of Duarte buses. The city is the first in Southern California to have an all-electric city bus service. (Photo courtesy of City of Duarte).

The 6.7-square-mile foothill city of Duarte rolled out electric bus service on Monday, becoming the first city in Southern California to have an all-electric fleet.

By purchasing three, 35-foot, battery-operated buses that travel 150 miles without stopping to charge, the city has replaced its diesel bus fleet that makes stops in neighborhoods, at the Target center on Mountain Avenue, the City of Hope and the Duarte Gold Line Station.

The first all-electric bus of the city of Duarte pulls into a stop Monday, April 1, 2019. The city is the first in Southern California to have an all-electric city bus system. (Photo courtesy City of of Duarte).

The first all-electric bus of the city of Duarte gains an early passenger on Monday, April 1, 2019. The city is the first in Southern California to have an all-electric city bus system. (Photo courtesy City of of Duarte).

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The duartEbus, seen here on a test run in mid-March 2019, began picking up passengers on April 1. The city is the first in Southern California to have an all-electric city bus system. (Photo courtesy Foothill Transit).

“We went from diesel to zero emissions. That is huge,” said Karen Herrera, deputy city manager. “Yeah, it was an antiquated fleet and it was breaking down all the time. So we said, why not go all electric?”

Diesel emissions are one of the larger sources of particulates, a type of smog that can damage the lungs and cause premature death. Some cities — such as Pasadena — use compressed natural gas buses to run their local service but have not yet switched to electric.

The electric duartEbuses will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 227 tons per year. The old city transit buses powered by diesel fuel put out about 1,456 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions daily or 454,272 pounds annually based on six-day a week service, Herrera said in an email.

Transit agencies gradually have begun the changeover to electric, a move required by law for every transit bus in the state by 2040 to slow the growth of global climate change and reduce smog.

For example, Long Beach Transit has 10 electric buses. That agency began its program in late 2017. Other transit agencies with some EV buses include Antelope Valley Transit Authority, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Anaheim Resort Transportation and Foothill Transit, based in the San Gabriel Valley.

Foothill Transit leads all with 37 electric buses; it will turn over its fleet of 370 buses by 2030, 10 years ahead of the state mandate. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority also voted to change to all electric transit buses by 2030.

The duartEbus was designed by Proterra and built in its City of Industry factory, Duarte Mayor Tzeitel Paras-Caracci said. Each bus costs about $800,000 each, she said. The city used $1.6 million in Proposition A money to offset most of the cost, she said.

But riders will pay extra for zero-emissions.

Residents used to get no-cost service on the city’s transit system. Now, the buses — though owned by the city — are operated by Foothill Transit, so riders pay the regular Foothill Transit fare. With a TAP card, a one-way ride is $1.25, $0.50 for seniors (62+) and people with disabilities. Students K-12 can receive a discounted 31-day pass. If paying by cash the fares are $1.50 and $0.75 for seniors/disabled.

Some people have complained about the cost to ride. But others said they were willing to pay for a cleaner and quieter ride, said Paras-Caracci, who took the inaugural bus ride Monday at 5:40 a.m.

“I’ve talked to people about the electric buses. And well, we are the City of Health,” she said. “The generations to come will be thanking us for being at the forefront of having electric buses in our small community.”

Some told her those who rode for free may consider walking. Others said they will ride the duartEbus or take the regular Foothill Transit 187 line, which runs from Azusa to Pasadena. Some of those coaches are also electric, as Foothill Transit feathers e-buses into their longer, transit routes.

The 860 Blue Line runs Monday through Friday, beginning at 5:45 a.m. with stops about every hour. The 861 Green Line runs Monday through Saturday. The last drop off on Saturday at the Mountain Vista Plaza is 8:30 p.m; the last pickup there is 7:40 p.m. (Monday through Friday) and 6:40 p.m. on Saturdays.

For the first time in decades, the city’s transit system will accept students. The duartEbus no longer has age restrictions. This will help middle and high school students, especially needing a ride home after extra-curricula activities. “This system cannot discriminate against students,” Paras-Caracci said.

Steve Scauzillo covers environment and transportation for the Southern California News Group. He has won two journalist of the year awards from the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club and is a recipient of the Aldo Leopold Award for Distinguished Editorial Writing on environmental issues. Steve studied biology/chemistry when attending East Meadow High School and Nassau College in New York (he actually loved botany!) and then majored in social ecology at UCI until switching to journalism. He also earned a master's degree in media from Cal State Fullerton. He has been an adjunct professor since 2005. Steve likes to take the train, subway and bicycle – sometimes all three – to assignments and the newsroom. He is married to Karen E. Klein, a former journalist with Los Angeles Daily News, L.A. Times, Bloomberg and the San Fernando Valley Business Journal and now vice president of content management for a bank. They have two grown sons, Andy and Matthew. They live in Pasadena. Steve recently watched all of “Star Trek” the remastered original season one on Amazon, so he has an inner nerd.